


Trip x Through x Time

by lightningstormtc



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: BAMF, BAMF Gon, Friendship, Gen, No Romance, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26684977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightningstormtc/pseuds/lightningstormtc
Summary: Tears welled up in Gon's eyes as he recognized the handwriting. It was Killua's. "Dear Gon. If you're reading this, you've gone back in time."If you couldn't tell, this is a Hunter x Hunter time travel fic, which is something I haven't seen much of, so I thought I would try my hand at it. There are manga spoilers.
Relationships: Ging Freecs & Gon Freecs, Gon Freecs & Alluka Zoldyck & Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs & Hisoka, Gon Freecs & Isaac Netero, Gon Freecs & Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs & Kurapika & Leorio Paladiknight & Killua Zoldyck
Comments: 27
Kudos: 98





	1. Back x In x Time

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first ever fanfiction and I'm really exited to get this started! Before you start, I do want to say there is manga spoilers and a LOT of headcanon because we know practically nothing about the Dark Continent at this point and time. All feedback is welcome as I really want to make a story in which everyone can enjoy. Also you can find this story on Fanfiction.net under the same pen name. I am debating whether or not to put it on Wattpad as well, but I'll let you know if I do. Anyways, please do enjoy my take on a Hunter x Hunter time travel fanfiction

Chapter 01: Back x In x Time

 _A final gift, huh?_ 56 year old Gon Freecss stared at the pocket watch that his best friend, Killua Zoldyck had given him before his untimely demise at the hands of one of the many terrifying beasts in the dark continent, the endless lands that laid just beyond the safe haven the humans lived in.

Of course, Gon had an idea of what he and his friends were getting into. After all, in a land where the terrifying Chimera Ants are only considered a B Rank threat, one can only imagine what vast horrors could await them. It was obvious that humans were not meant to traverse these lands, but after what Beyond Netero had done to the world, they had no chance but to escape.

Around 44 years ago, the ex-chairman of the hunter association had passed away during his fight with the Chimera Ant King, Meruem. Shortly after, his son, Beyond Netero muscled his way through the ranks of the association before killing Issac's successor, Cheadie Yorkshire. With the help of the new king of the Kakin Empire, Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou, they slowly started to take over the known world. By the time Gon turned 16, every last corner of civilization was ruled by the two tyrants.

After the execution of the leaders of the resistance, Leorio Paradinight and Ging Freecss, Gon, Killua, Kurapika Kurta, and a few others decided to flee through the gates and try their luck at the dark continent. Unfortunately, the dark continent was so much worse than they had imagined. Shorty after their arrival at the continent, they ran into a chimera ant nest, though since the flora and fauna of the New World was much more powerful than that of the humans, the ants were much more powerful than the ones they had previously run into. Music Hunter Melody laid down her life and helped the small group of survivors escape by playing the Sonata of Darkness, which horribly mutilated the body of whoever listens, including the performer.

It took about fifteen years to get past the west part of the dark continent. Many people had sacrificed themselves or died vainly during those years. One notably being Morel Mackernasey, who died to an unknown humanoid claiming to be a soldier belonging to a man with the name Don Freecss, whose sole mission was to kill Gon for unknown reasons.

As they made it to the eastern side of the Dark Continent, all hell broke loose. More of Don's army raided the already small group. They were incomprehensibly strong, as the east side of the dark continent was so much more unforgiving and terrible than the west side, something though to be completely impossible, even among the standards of single and double star hunters. Kurapika had sacrificed himself by using the last of his life force to activate his Hatsu ability: Emperor Time to finish off the hulking monstrosity.

Four years later, Gon and Killua were the last surviving members of the original group, which consisted of around 3,000 trained hunters. Though blood sweat and tears, they had finally reached the location of Don Freecss. The two friends battled the ageless tyrant for months on end, neither letting up. Due to a misstep on Gon's part, Don was able to launch a fatal blast at Gon, which was then stopped by Killua. With his dying breath, Killua had given Gon his pocket watch, claiming that it was special, and would activate when the time comes.

Rage filling his heart at the death of his best friend, Gon activated his second ability: God of the Hunt. This ability allowed him to access the abilities of those he has defeated in combat. Through years of sparring with Killua, both winning and losing, he activates Killua's hatsu ability, which was his control over electricity. With their powers combined, Gon defeated his ancestor and took his power. Don's ability, aptly named Spoils of War, an ability to gain the life force and power of those he had killed, Gon then roamed the dark continent for decades, surviving and living off the power of his enemies.

After decades of living through the cycle of pain and suffering, meeting, befriending, and losing allies, and the survival of the fittest, he finally managed to reach the end. Gon now stood at the foot of a giant gate, which lead to God knows where. He looked up, his mind praying that this was the end. Before proceeding, he decided to take inventory on what he had accumulated throughout his adventures, both the reminisce the bloody events that he had gone through, and to prepare for what was to come. All of the items he had decided to keep were very useful and/or sentimental to him, and they could all be used during a fight.

Gon rummaged through the backpack he had, which had the ability to open into his own personal storage space by channeling Nen into the pack. The first thing he took out was a shining, red fishing rod. Gon's weapon of choice was named the Blood Rod. By letting the rod feed on the user's blood, the Blood Rod could extend indefinitely, only limited by the amount of blood that was feeding into the rod. The rod also emits a strange aura when enough blood is fed into the rod. This aura attracts monsters into the end of the line, making them obsessed with obtaining whatever was attached at the time. Of course, beings with high amounts of Nen could resist such urges, but most C and B rank threats in the dark continent would be utterly helpless to the urges.

The second thing was an object that looked like a smartphone. When channeling Nen into the phone, it could scan the life forms in a certain radius determined by the amount of Nen. The scanner can identify the names, qualities, and abilities of whatever it scans. It can also use blood if the user is not able to use Nen, but it is far less efficient. Gon just called this item "The Scanner" because there was nobody available to give him an actual name.

The final object he had was his pocket watch. For some reason, this watch could display the date as well as the time. Gon never knew why or how, but it was a valuable tool, considering it was the only way he could possibly keep any sense of time, considering how warped the laws of time and space went in the dark continent. Killua said it was really special, and Gon took that to heart. He kept it wherever he went, and never spent a moment without the memento.

Gon looked up at the gate. The gate was several times taller than any beast he had seen in the dark continent, even the gigantic monolith known as The Earthshaker, which was around 600 meters in height. He strapped his backpack on his back, pocketed his pocket watch, and proceeded, scanner secured in his left hand and his rod in his right, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

Gon's guard went up as a bright flash of light filled his vison. Gon averted his eyes for only a split second before looking back. A majestic figure floated in the air, wearing regal clothing and a mask. It held a golden staff with its right hand and a tome with its left. It looked… royal, as if anything in this world and the next could not even dream to match the figure. Gon examined this figure, battle ready, for in the dark continent, anything goes.

 _Greetings young one,_ The being's voiced boomed through the open area, snapping Gon out of his stupor and forced him to pay attention to the being. It was deep, commanding, and intimidating. _I am the GateKeeper of the final gate. The Gate to Paradise._

"Paradise?" Gon's low voice paled in comparison to the Gatekeeper, but it wasn't by any means small. "Does such a thing exist?"

Gon could swear the Gatekeeper was narrowing his eyes at him, examining his very soul. _Yes. Those who have made it this far would be offered an ultimatum to enter paradise. A world with no battles, strife, or grief._ When Gon narrowed his eyes skeptically at the creature, it continued. _You can either enter the gates with no conflict, but take one of every creature and plant in the dark continent with you, or you can fight me for access to the gate._

Gon lowered his head and started to think. The was no way this "paradise" could last a day with even a few creatures from the dark continent, no matter how strong they were. Despite all the suffering Gon has went through, he was still a good person at heart. He didn't want to see all these people living their lives to be assaulted by the eldritch horrors of the dark continent and see whatever world beyond the gate become another terrible wasteland that Gon had spent years suffering through.

"Well, I guess I have no choice," Gon put his fishing rod and his scanner back in his pack and got into a stance that he had become all too familiar with. "I accept your challenge."

 _Very well,_ The keeper lowered himself until he was on the ground. It entered a fighting stance, preparing to attack. _Let us begin._

"First comes rock," Gon muttered to himself as his long hair started to float into the air as the gatekeeper charged him, his staff blazing with a golden flare of Nen. "Rock, Paper, Rock."

_**Gon's world went black.** _

* * *

Gon instantly realized something was wrong when he opened his eyes. The first thing he realized was that the familiar coat of Nen Gon always had activated was completely gone. Gon tried to consciously activate his Nen, but it didn't work. The second thing he noticed was that he was short. Like, really short. Not just him too. He couldn't feel his long hair cascade down his back. He sat up and looked around. He noticed that the room he was in seemed familiar. It was a brightly colored room with a desk and a bed. It wasn't right. This was his old childhood bedroom. That was impossible. He remembered as Beyond personally came and destroyed his house 40 years ago and ripped Mito's heart out right in front of him. Another thing he noticed was that there was a note in his hand and his backpack by his bed. Shaking off the weird feeling of nostalgia he had, he decided to look at the letter. Maybe it had some clues as to where he was. Gon's face paled as he recognized the handwriting of the note. It was Killua's.

_Dear Gon,_

_If you're reading this, then you died in the dark continent and went back in time. That pocket watch I gave you was a really special device found in the east side of the dark continent. When the user dies, they will go back in time into a time and date where the user sets. I decided to set it the day you leave for the hunter exams. You will also bring three items with you. I set it to be your blood rod, your scanner, and your backpack. The rod and the scanner should be inside the backpack. The only problem now is your Nen. Your Nen should be reset to when you were at the time, which for this instance, it's nada. I understand that this is a lot to take in, but I wanted this to happen for you. So much has happened since we met and went to the dark continent, and I wanted you to live your life. Whether you decide to stop Beyond in his schemes or just decide to live your life and have fun, it's up to you. I want you to live life to the fullest, because you never had that chance. I wanted you to have this because I was already content. You were enough to make my life have meaning and knowing that you have a second chance to make your life worth living makes me happy. I have no regrets._

_Your best friend,_

_Killua_

Tears fell onto the paper as Gon silently sobbed. His friend had given him everything. He had given him his chance at a new life but decided to give it to Gon. After a little while Gon wiped his tears and smiled. "Thank you, Killua," he murmured to himself as he put the letter on his bed and stood up, a newfound determination filling his once dead eyes. He opened his backpack and dug through. Surprisingly, he was able to pull his blood rod and his scanner without using Nen. He grabbed his scanner and pressed the button on the bottom, wincing as needle popped out of the device and pricked his finger. The scanner flared to life and displayed two names: "Gon Freecss" and "Mito Freecss"

Tears welled in his eyes again. Mito-san was alive! The scanner never picked up on anything dead, so that meant only one thing. He tapped on his name and read his file.

_Gon Freecss_

_Age: 11 (56)_

_Height: 154 cm_

_Weight: 49 kg_

_Birthday: May 5th_

_Nen Ability: Nen is not currently unlocked._

_Nen User Classification: N/A_

Gon sighed in exasperation. It was really happening. He was in the past. He started debating on what to do, but he decided to unlock Nen first. Gon held out his pointer and middle finger, turning the fingers on to himself before jabbing at multiple parts of his body. He learned sometime down the line that if your aura nodes are hit with just the right pressure, they will open. As he opened the last one, his aura flared to life. Gon shaped it into his Ten. He noticed something immediately. His aura was pathetic. By a hunter's standards, Gon would be considered a prodigy, as he was before, but compared to the monstrous aura he had before he died, this was as if an ant was compared to an Earthshaker

Gon grabbed his scanner and channeled some of his aura again. He tapped on his name and narrowed his eyes as he read the description.

_Gon Freecss_

_Age: 11 (56)_

_Height: 154 cm_

_Weight: 49 kg_

_Birthday: May 5th_

_Hatsu: Future Past_

_Description: Future Past an ability created as a result to someone entering the past from the future. As their powers grow, they will gain the abilities they had in their alternate future. They cannot learn or gain any abilities other than the ones they have learned in the past, but they can still surpass their alternate self._

_Nen Abilities: Lightning_

Gon flipped off the scanner and put it in his bag along with the fishing rod. He sighed in exasperation and looked at his hands. In most circumstances, his new ability would be terrible, since most Nen users didn't have a lot of abilities, but in Gon's case, it was completely different. The abilities he gained from defeating and killing things from the dark continent and from defeats he had before then were in the thousands. He didn't know how much stronger he had to get before gaining what he once had, but that was okay. He stood up and dusted himself before grabbing his backpack and exiting the room. He found it ironic that his first ability was Killua's. He'd watch him zip around the field with his Godspeed for years, and was excited to see what he could do with-

"Gon," a voice shook Gon out of his stupor. Gon looked up from his stupor to see his long dead Aunt Mito. "Are you ready? The ship leaves in 10 minutes. Have you packed everything you-"

Mito was interrupted by a bone crushing hug from her nephew. "I'm ready, Mito-san!" Gon declared with a huge smile as he pulled away. Gon was trying his best to hold back tears and act like his old self as to not arouse suspicion. "I'll miss you so much! I'll be sure to write often!"

"Alright, Gon," Mito looked at him with a soft smile. "Good luck."

"Un!" Gon nodded as he ran off. He was really happy that he got to see Mito-san again, but he didn't know what to do. He started to think to himself as he ran towards the boat. He had decided to currently go with the original timeline because he wanted to meet Leorio, Kurapika, and most importantly, Killua. That also meant that Gon had to constantly stay in Zetsu, so that no Nen users would notice him. He weaved through the buildings and people of the town as he approached the shore and hopped onto the correct boat. "Yosha!"

"Hey kid," The vaguely familiar voice made Gon turn around. Standing in front of him was the captain of the boat, one Gon vaguely remembers as the guy who took him to the first part of the hunter exams. "Are you sure you're on the right boat? This is the one to the hunter exams."

"Un!" Gon nodded again, that ear to ear grin plastered on his face. "I'm here to be a hunter! Don't worry, Captain-san! I'm really strong, ya know?"

The captain took a drag from his cigar, sighing heavily in the process. "Well, it's your funeral. See if I care."

Gon smiled at him as he turned around and left. Gon's smile then dropped as he stared out into the ocean. _I won't let you guys die again,_ he thought, a determined look on his face. He couldn't lose them again. He won't lose them again. _I want to live happily these first few months, but when we get to Yorknew, I can't afford to screw around, but one thing's for sure. I'm not going back to the dark continent. As far as I'm concerned, Paradise is right here._


	2. Exams x and x Respite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gon meets Leorio and Kurapika. Things go mostly as normal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your previous support on the first chapter! Here is where I'll be responding to reviews and generally talk about where I want to go with the story. Something i want to hear from you is what ability do you want Gon to have next? He already has Killua's ability, and although it's not stated, he also has his original ability. Paper and scissors are now stronger because he is a specialist now instead of an enhancer for two reasons. First, because his new ability made it that being a specialist was a more logical conclusion to make, and secondly, because anything goes in the dark continent. Just ask Nanika. Anyways, I was thinking of giving Gon Bungee Gum because it is a very versatile ability and it can create some tension between Gon and Hisoka if Hisoka ever catches Gon using it, but I am open to suggestions. If I use your idea, I will be sure to credit you. Also the ability doesn't already have to belong to a character yet. Also a rule I'm giving myself is the Gon will not have Isaac Netero's ability. Gon never had the chance to defeat or kill him, and Gon cannot gain any more abilities. He will have whatever I decide Beyond and Ging's abilities to be. Also feel free to give suggestions on Nen abilities that people like Pariston and others who haven't had their abilities revealed yet. Anyways, thank you all for reading and I hope we can continue this journey of Gon in time.

Chapter 2 Exams x and x Respite

Gon leans forward on the crow's nest as a familiar wind brushes upon his face. The storm was huge, no doubt, but it was absolutely nothing compared to the constant raging winds of the dark continent. He closed his eyes as he let his aura flow through him and out into a protective bubble.

 _I'm able to practice my Ten for now, but my Ren would surely cause someone to notice, even if they can't use Nen,_ Gon thought, reminiscing back to the time of Heaven's Area and Hisoka's "trial" for Gon and Killua. Gon needed to increase the amount of aura if he wanted to go through with his plan. After a few minutes, he hid his aura and hopped down, landing in front of the captain.

"Captain-san, I think there's a storm coming!" Gon explained, keeping his energetic and cheery façade.

"Oh?" The captain huffed, a puff of smoke following. "And how would you know that?"

Gon smiled his signature contagious smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. "The seabirds are warning each other of a huge storm," he stated matter-of-factly as the Captain narrowed his eyes, making an unreadable expression. "Also my nose is really good, and I can smell it!"

The Captain smiles, his eyes gleaming with something akin to nostalgia. "You know, you remind me of someone," he chuckles to himself and turns around before Gon can ask any questions. "ALRIGHT STATIONS, EVERYONE! YOU ALL WANT TO BE HUNTERS?! NOW IT'S TIME TO PROVE YOURSELVES!"

Gon strolls into one of the many rooms meant for the examinees to relax as a huge wave hits the boat. Gon huffs in amusement as he sees a few examinees fly down the hallway. Gon then sits down to meditate, continuing to practice his Ten.

Kurapika walks down the hallway, nonchalantly moving side to side, avoiding the people struggling to grab a footing on the boat during the storm. The storm was a little harrowing to him, but it was nothing compared to the sandstorms in Meteor City. He sighs as the memories put a dampener on his mood and turns to enter the room where the examinees were supposed to go so he could finally have some peace and quiet to think.

The first thing he sees is a small boy who seemed to be meditating. Before Kurapika could internally comment about the scene unfolding, the boy opened his eyes and is expression morphed into one of slight shock, but Kurapika did not miss the shine of longing in the boy's eyes. This expression only lasted for a split second as the boy then smiled which almost glowed as he ran up to Kurapika before stopping right in front of him.

"Hi!" The boy almost shouted in what seemed to be glee. "I'm Gon! What's your name?"

A multitude of thoughts rushed into Kurapika's head. Why was a boy in the Hunter Exam? Kurapika narrowed his eyes as he felt suspicion and envy rise in his heart. Suspicious that such a young boy could even make it this far, as every other person was sick except for him, Gon, and that one old man reading a book in the corner. The envy was from the innocence and happiness radiating from the boy, making Kurapika almost forget Gon's initial reaction to him. Almost.

"Kurapika," Kurapika simply stated, his expression softening ever so slightly. He would eventually figure out more about this boy, now named Gon as time went on, assuming they would be taking the Hunter exam together. "It's nice to meet you, Gon."

Gon _beamed_ at this statement, his smile widening, which Kurapika initially thought was something not possible. "Nice to meet you too, Kurapika-san!" Gon turned to face the old man, his smile not faltering in the slightest. "Hey ossan! Come meet Kurapika!"

A tick appeared on the old man's forehead as he closed his book and sighed, standing up. "I already told you I'm not that old!" He walked over, stepping over all the sick people groaning in pain. "Anyways, I'm Leorio, but that's Leorio-san to you."

The "old" man, otherwise known as Leorio gave Kurapika bad vibes already. He narrowed his eyes at the man, preparing to say something that would probably offend Leorio, but Gon's cheery voice snapped him out of his stupor. "Kurapika-san, please don't be too mean to the ossan. He might look weird, but he's a nice guy, I swear!"

The tick reappeared on Leorio's forehead as he opened his mouth to tell Gon off, but he reconsidered. His face softened into a smile. "Thanks, Gon, but you shouldn't call me an old man. I'm only nineteen, ya know?"

"NINETEEN?!" Gon and Kurapika's eyes shot up. Kurapika notice that the familiar light of surprise was absent in Gon's eyes. Kurapika was about to say something rude, but the door opened behind him before he could do anything rash.

"Gon-san, Leorio-san, Kurapika-san, can you please report to the captain immediately?" A crew member asked. Before anyone can respond, Gon gleefully bounded out of the room.

"That kid is sure something," Leorio sighed with exasperation as he stomped out his cigarette.

"That's something we can agree on, Leorio," Kurapika said calmly as he walked out of the room to follow Gon.

"That's Leorio-san to you" Kirapika could hear Leorio shout through the raging storm.

 _Damn, I wish I could have tried to have them get along a bit better,_ Gon thought as he entered the Captain's office, Leorio and Kurapika following a few seconds later.

"Ne, Captain-san," Gon asked, a flawless imitation of childlike curiosity plastered on his face. "What did you want us for?"

"I wanted to ask you three why you were taking the hunter exam, considering you three are the only ones who aren't down for the count," The captain chuckled to himself as he took another drag from his pipe.

"Ah, can I go first?" Gon exclaimed, his hand in the air. The captain smiled softly and nodded. "I want to get the attention of a certain man, and I was hoping to meet him during the exam."

Kurapika opened his mouth, obviously agitated, but the captain put his hand up, gesturing for him to wait. The sparkle in the captain's eyes portrayed his interest. "Oh, and may we know the name of this man?"

"Un!" God nodded, clenching his raised hand into a fist and holding it in front of him. "I wanted to talk to Isaac Netero-ojisan!"

"Isaac Netero, the chairman of the Hunter Acossiation?!" Leorio exclaimed in shock, practically jumping at Gon's statement. "What would you want with a bigshot like him?!"

Gon turned to Leorio, smiling with the intensity of the sun, his eyes closed in an expression of joy. "I wanna fight him!"

Dead silence. The only thing heard for a few moments were the waves crashing and the thunder and lightning crashing down on the sea before the captain started laughing, his booming voice filling the room with his jovial laughs. "You're an interesting one, kid, I'll give you that!" He boomed. "Now, what about you two?"

"I refuse to state my reason," Kurapika said, a determined look on his face.

"I refuse as well," Leorio followed up with an indifferent expression.

The boisterous laughs of the caption suddenly stopped as his face hardened, giving a very serious expression. "Ya know, I was hired to make sure that there aren't too many applicants, so I have every right to make sure you don't make it to the Hunter exam, so it would be in your best interests to answer my questions."

Kurapika and Leorio stiffened at the captain's statement, and there was a small silence between the four. "Revenge," Kurapika broke the silence, his eyes turning into a brilliant scarlet. "The Phantom Troupe destroyed my clan, and I'm going to kill every single one of them."

"Why would you become a hunter just for revenge?" Rather than stay silent, Leorio decided to satiate his curiosity.

"Hunters have access to information that everyone else does not, Leorio," Kurapika stated simply as a tick appeared on Leorio's head. "It makes tracking down those filthy spiders all the more easier for me."

Leorio sighed, as he looked around. "Well, as for me, all I want my license for is to get money," He stated, not necessarily enthusiastically, but stated nonetheless. "Hunters get a fortune to sit on and free use of public amenities. I just want to live my life in comfort."

"That's an awfully, selfish reason, Leorio," Kurapika states, not even caring to look at the man he was berating.

"And you're one to talk?" Leorio said, finally snapping. "Ya know, if your clan was all like you, no wonder they were all wiped out! I mean you can't even show respect!"

"Take that back." A wave of killer intent washed over the room as Kurapika's scarlet eyes _bore_ into the doctor-in-training.

"You're going to have to make me, _Kurapika_ ," Leorio's voice was filled with venom as he shot a glare at the scarlet eyed man. "Let's take this outside."

The trio walked outside as Kurapika held his wooden blades, gripping them until his knuckles turned white. He raised one and pointed it at Leorio, who was standing a few feet away, pocket knife in hand. "I will defeat you for daring to disrespect my clan."

"Well, I'll beat your ass for disrespecting me!" Leorio exclaimed with a comical expression of rage plastered on his face.

Before they can start, a man slips and falls, tumbling between the two duelists and flying off the ship, shocking the both of them.

As Kurapika and Leorio's faces widen in shock, Gon's face is filled with determination. He runs after the man, rushing between the duelists, and jumps off, arms outstretched to catch the man's legs.

Gon wasn't able to see the looks on their faces as he jumped, but by the guardian of the final gate, he could swear that they would have been priceless. As he grabbed onto the man's legs, Gon felt a hand grasp on either one of his. He smiled softly as he achieved his mission, as he could almost feel the smile that Leorio and Kurapika were giving each other as they heaved Gon and the sailor back onto the ship.

"Ya know, you're not so bad," Leorio states, a smirk on his face as he looked at his rival. "I apologize for disrespecting your clan."

Kurapika's expression softened as he smiled for quite possibly the first time in years. "Same with you, Leorio- _san,_ " Kurapika emphasized the last part of his statement as they both looked at Gon.

"Hehe!" Gon smiled as he stood up and looked at the two of them. "I'm so happy you two made up!"

Leorio sighed as he hit Gon on the head, a comical anger radiating from him "You idiot! What were you thinking?!" He shouted as Gon rubbed his head. "What if we weren't able to save you?!"

Gon looked up at him with childlike innocence before smiling. "But I knew you two would save me! We're friends after all, right?"

"Friends?!" Leorio sputtered. Kurapika giggled softly at the two's antics as he looked towards the horizon, noticing that the storm was almost over.

"Yep!" Gon also turned to the horizon, an uncharacteristically soft smile on his face as a tear rolled down his cheek, full of grief and sorrow. "Friends." He whispered, almost too soft for the two to hear. Almost.


	3. Reunion x Among x Strangers

Chapter 03 Reunion x Among x Strangers

“Yatta!” Gon hopped out of the boat and onto solid land. After the storm, it didn’t take too long to arrive onto Dolle Harbor. He took out his scanner to check for Nen users, but more importantly, check on his status to see if he unlocked more abilities.

_Name: Gon Freeccs_

_Age: 12 (56)_

_Nen type: Specialist_

_Nen Abilities: Lightning, Bungee Gum, Texture Surprise_

That was interesting. Gon never expected to get Hisoka’s abilities so early. He was hoping for Leorio’s teleportation ability, but he couldn’t deny the fact that Bungee Gum was a very useful and versatile ability. He scrolled down and saw another name, though.

_Name: Jaymin Anchor_

_Age: 72_

_Nen type: Conjurer_

_Nen Abilities: Wave, Surf_

Surprisingly, Gon didn’t pale. He should have expected that there was a Nen user around. Gon used his context clues to determine that the Nen user was the captain. Of course the captain was a Nen user, though he must be very experienced in Zetsu for Gon not to detect it. The time traveler internally chastised himself for letting his guard down, even for a little bit.

“Well, I’m going to take the bus!” Gon heard Leorio shout at Kurapika.

“Ano, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Gon said with a sugary sweet, innocent voice. “The Hunter Exam would probably be harder than just taking a bus.”

“Oh please, Gon! Not you too!” Leorio threw his hands up in exasperation. “Whatever! I’ll just go without you two!”

* * *

The captain, now named Jaymin Anchor stared at the device in Gon’s hands with skepticism. He had subtly let out a bit of his Nen to concentrate on his eyes when he sensed Gon’s aura raise and saw it was concentrated on said device. Whenever he saw devices like that, it was usually conjured up as part of a Nen ability. As he saw the one named Leorio turn around and run after his new friends, Jaymin walked into his quarters and picked up his cell phone, dialing a number.

“Hello?” He asked, waiting for a response. When the response came, he sighed in exasperation. “There’s a particularly interesting one this year. If there’s a small kid, keep an eye on him. Yeah. His name is Gon.”

* * *

“Why is there no one here?” Leorio asked as he looked around warily at the deserted town. “It’s kind of creepy.”

“You can’t notice?” Gon asked curiously, momentarily forgetting that Leorio wasn’t the hardened leader he was in his past life.

Kurapika nodded. “Even I can notice, _Leorio_.”

“Oi-“ Leorio was about to tell the Kurta before being cut off by the appearance of several masked men appeared, blocking their path with a stage with an old woman sitting on it.

Gon’s eyes widened slightly in shock as he saw the blank stare that he recognized all too well when those of weak will succumbed to the insanity of the Dark Continent. “You must pass our quiz if you want to access to the cedar tree.”

Before anyone could speak, Gon looked at the woman with pity and sorrow. “So you’ve been there too, huh?” He whispered, the words coming out before he could react. He knew the look in his eyes was enough for the elderly woman to register what he was talking about.

The woman paused, giving him the same blank stare, but Gon knew the amount of terror washing through her at the mention of that accursed place. “You may pass.”

“A-are you sure?” One of the masked people asked, a large amount of whispering from the masked people.

“Let them pass,” the woman said again, her quiet and unwavering voice unchanging. “I… need time to think.”

“As you wish,” the masked people opened the gate. “You have been deemed worthy by Lady Quizzer. You may pass.”

“What was that?” Kurapika and Leorio asked in unison.

“Please,” Gon shot them a look, showing enough sadness and grief for even Leorio to register. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

* * *

Isaac Netero put down the phone, a serious expression on his face. He would usually laugh dangerous and weird situations off, but this time was different. He waved it off when his old friend Jaymin told him that there was a boy with an unidentified Nen device, but when one of Linne’s weird cultists called him saying that Linne wanted to tell him that one of the participants matching the description of the boy who Jaymin had described has been to the Dark Continent.

 _Such a pitiful fate for someone so young,_ Netero sighed back into his seat. _This will be most interesting._

“Netero-san?” Beans asked, walking up to him with a stack of papers. “Here are the first people to reach it to the exam. Is everything alright? You never make that face.”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Netero chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. “Just got a couple interesting phone calls, that’s all.”

“Whatever you say,” Beans said as he placed the stack on Netero’s desk and walked away, leaving the chairman to his thoughts.

* * *

“Stop complaining!” Kurapika barked at Leorio, who was complaining about the distance to the tree.

“But why does it have to be so long?” Leorio whined.

“Gon’s not tired!”

“But he’s _Gon_!”

“Fair enough.”

“Guys!” Gon caught the attention of his bickering friends, pointing at two people being attacked by two monsters.

“What the hell?!” Leorio shouted.

“Kurapika! We’ll each take one!” Gon shouted, prepping himself to dash. “Leorio! We’ll create a diversion. When we do, tend to the wounded.”

The two nodded, not enough time for banter. Gon dashed, a small amount of aura forming around his hand. As he punched one of the monsters, he tagged it with Bungee Gum. The Kiriko was sent flying, Gon dashing after him.

* * *

Gon had lost sight of the Kiriko, but he only let it go because he had already tagged it. “Oi, Gon!” Leorio walked over to him. “I gave the wounded people painkillers. They’ll be fine”.”

Gon gave the man a confused expression. Wasn’t the fake supposed to go to Kurapika? _Whatever,_ he thought. _What’s wrong with a little change?_

He looked at the fake man. “You’re not Leorio-san,” he said with childlike bluntness. “He wants to be a doctor. Doctors don’t leave injured people alone.”

“I guess you caught me,” Leorio’s form twisted and mutilated until it turned into a Kiriko. “Well? Aren’t we going to fight?”

“Why?” Gon asked, tilting his head. “I don’t really want to.”

“What?!” The Kiriko facefaulted. “What do you mean?”

“My friends have probably figured out they’re being tricked already, Plus,” Gon said. The boy flicked his wrist, causing the Kiriko’s partner to fall off the tree towards Gon. “I’ve already won.”

“Wow, kid!” The Kiriko that was standing started to laugh. “You’re an interesting one! Come on, let’s go back to the cabin.”

* * *

Gon walked back to see Leorio and Kurapika conversing with the other to Kiriko. “Guys!” He called over.

“Gon!” Leorio shouted. “Those people were actually those weird monster things! Isn’t that crazy?”

“Actually,” one of the Kiriko piped up. “I think the real monster here is this kid. He had me wrapped around his finger. Literally.”

“Don’t ask,” the other Kiriko waved his hand dismissively as Kurapika and Leorio shot Gon a look.

“Anyways,” the Kiriko behind Kurapika chirped. “I would think these three pass. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

“Yeah.”

“Sounds fair.”

“Great!” The Kiriko chirped. “You should stay for the night. We’ll fly you to the exam area tomorrow.”

* * *

As they landed in Zaban City, Gon couldn’t help but feel a bit of nostalgia. Every now and again, he Leorio, Kurapika, and Killua would stop by here in his past life to reunite and catch up on the adventures each of them had been going through before Beyond Netero showed up. It was a sentimental place to them, that being the location of the exam that had brought the four friends together. With a sad smile on his face, Gon set off with his friends to the exam site.

* * *

“We’re off!” The three soon-to-be participants call to the Kiriko, waving happily.

“Bye, Gon! Don’t forget to stop by!”

“Thank you for the bandages, Leorio!”

“I won’t forget that punch next time we meet, Kurapika!”

“We’ll be seeing you!”

The three stare at the exit to the ramen store as the four of them exit the buiding. “Are you guys ready?” Kurapika asked.

“Hell yeah!” Leorio holds his fist in front of him. “We’re going to crush that exam!”

“I’m so excited!” Gon squealed, his childlike façade strong, but not completely fake. He genuinely felt happy again. He felt like a _kid_ again, and it was the best Gon had felt in decades.

* * *

The three sat down at the table in the back room in anticipation. Leorio and Kurapika were anticipating the exam, but Gon was anticipating something completely different. Gon was anticipating the reunion between him and his lifelong friend. Gon knew he wouldn’t do something as dramatic as bursting into tears, but that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t be an emotional moment for him.

As the door opened to reveal a tunnel, the three of them stood up and walked out. “Hello!” A small, green man in a suit waddled up to them as they reached the end of the tunnel. The man handed out three tags with the numbers 403, 404, and 405 respectively. “Here are your tags for the exam.”

“Thanks, Beans-san!” Gon chirped as he took the tag numbered 405 before realizing that he wasn’t supposed to know the chibi’s name.

“How do you know my name?” Beans asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Ah! My hunter friend told me about you!” Gon said, thinking fast.

“And what was this hunter’s name?” At this point, Leorio and Kurapika were also looking at Gon, albeit more confused than suspicious.

“Ano,” Gon made a thinking pose before looking up again, his index finger up as if he just remembered something. “Her name was Bisky-chan!”

“Ah, Biscuit Kruger,” Beans nodded. “She is a strong hunter. If you were able to befriend such a mon- I mean formidable hunter, then I’m sure you will have no problems passing the exam.”

“Thanks, Beans-san!” Gon chirped before turning back to his friends. “Let’s go! I want to make some friends before the exam begins!”

* * *

“Oh, thanks for the drink,” Killua said as he took the pop from the man, Tonpa as he remembered.

“No problem!” The man said, smiling and rubbing his hands. “It’s always nice to make friends out here.”

 _Poison,_ Killua thought as the slight tang of laxatives spread throughout his tongue. Of course, it was no problem for him. Laxatives five times stronger than the one Tonpa had given him were used on him for “training” when he was only three years old. _Figures as much._

“Oiii!” A childish call caught Killua’s attention. He turned to see a boy, around his age bounding towards him with two people walking behind him, soft smiles on their faces. That was weird. Killua was sure that he was the only kid to enter the exam. He didn’t even know that kids outside the Zoldyck family had the capabilities of entering the exam at such a young age.

“I didn’t know there was someone my age here!” The boy chirped, a gleeful smile on his face. “You must be really strong! My name is Gon!”

“Killua,” the assassin introduced himself. He wasn’t really one for emotions, but the boy’s infectious smile got to him, a small grin forming on his face. “Nice to meet you, Gon.”

“You too!” Gon said, his smile only widening. “Want to be friends?”

“Friends?” Killua asked. Killua has never had a friend before, but memories of him playing with Alluka flashed through his head. As far as he knew, friends got to play and do fun stuff together, much like he and Alluka did.

 _If that’s the case_ , Killua said to himself, his grin widening slightly. He made sure to vocalize the second part of his thoughts. “I would love to be your friend, Gon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I know Linne wasn't Lady Quizzer in canon, but I thought it would be a cool thing to spice things up. I think it would be interesting if Netero already knew about Gon's involvement with the Dark Continent. I would think Netero would take great interest in Gon at that point. Though Netero personally didn't think that the challenge the Dark Continent brought him was one to his liking, I think that he would think someone who has survived the Dark Continent, especially someone so young would have the potential to grab his interest. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	4. The x Exam x Begins

Chapter 04 The x Exam x Begins

“Greetings,” A weird looking guy with purple hair and a _dashing_ mustache caught the attention of the 400 people crowded around for the exams. “My name is Satoz and I am the first examiner. I will lead you to the second phase of the exam.”

“What’s the first phase, then?” A random person shouted, quite irritated.

“Follow me and you’ll find out,” Satoz replied, a slight hint of amusement on his face as he started to walk in a weird fashion. Not knowing what else to do, the participants start to follow him.

While the pace was still slow, Gon slips through the crowd and places himself right behind the Hunter. “Ano, Satoz-san?” Gon asks, attempting to get the man’s attention with a sweet, innocent tone.

“Yes, young man?” Satoz turns his head and raises his eyebrow at the sight of a kid taking the Hunter exam. “It’s a surprise to see someone as young as you here.”

“Yup!” Gon chirped. “Anyways, I wanted to ask if you can go a bit faster. I want to pass the Hunter exam as soon as possible.”

Gon could only assume that Satoz smirked, as he doesn’t really have any lips. “As you wish, young man,” he said. “Before I do so, may I ask your name?”

“Un!” Gon nodded, his smile widening. “My name is Gon!”

 _So this is the “Gon” figure that Netero-dono warned us about,_ Satoz thought inwardly as he picked up his pace. He didn’t intend to go at a fast speed until about an hour in, but since this “Gon” kid asked for it, Satoz figured it would be wrong to refuse his request. _Let’s see how you deal with this._

* * *

“Really? A skateboard?” Leorio asked Killua, panting as he continued to run. It’s been about two hours now, and Leorio was wondering how he was still running. “This is an insult to the Hunter exams.”

“Satoz-san only said to follow him but never said that skateboards weren’t allowed,” Leorio and Kurapika jumped as they heard Gon’s voice. They turned their heads to see Gon jogging behind them. “We just need to follow him by any means necessary.”

“Gon!” Leorio shouted. “It’s been two hours! Where have you been?! We thought you dropped out already!”

“Ah,” Gon said, as if he just remembered something. “Satoz and I were talking about my dad. He’s a famous hunter, you know?”

“You were in the front?!” Leorio exclaimed, refraining from shouting as to not use too much energy.

“Yep!” Gon said before turning his attention to Killua. “Ne, Killua. Want to race?”

Killua kicked up his skateboard and started running next to Gon. “Sure, this is getting boring anyways.”

“Ne, if I win will you let me try your skateboard?” Gon asked.

“Sure, but what if I win?” Killua shoved his hands in his pockets.

“I’ll teach you something really cool!” Gon exclaimed. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to teach his friends Nen early on. It will only prove to help them down the road. Plus, even if Gon might not be there, the face Silva would make when he finds out that Killua unlocked the ability to use Nen during the exams would be _priceless_.

“Alright, you’re on,” Killua smirked as the two ran off.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Leorio grumbled to himself. Kurapika only nodded silently in response.

* * *

“I win!” Killua shouted, reaching the exit only a split second before Gon.

“Haha, you did!” Gon smiled at his friend. Of course, he let Killua win, so he had an excuse to teach him Nen. “That was fun, Killua.”

“Yeah,” Killua smiled back at Gon. _Having friends isn’t so bad._

“Ano, Satoz-san,” Gon turned his attention to the examiner. “Is this where the second phase is?”

“No,” Satoz replied simply. “We are just waiting for everyone before we can start the second half.”

Kurapika arrived soon after Gon and Killua did, and Leorio barely managed to squeeze by before the door to the tunnel closes.

“This is the Milsy Wetlands,” Satoz said. “Otherwise known as the Swindler’s swamp. We will continue soon. If you want to live, it will be in your best interest to stay close to me.”

“Wait!” A man appeared by the tunnel. “That bastard isn’t human! He’s actually a man faced ape who wants to lure you in and eat all of you! The bastard knocked me unconscious and took my place!”

“What the hell?” Leorio asked himself.

“Well,” the ninja named Hanzo stated. “Satoz does look a little weird.”

Before anyone else could react, six playing cards were sent flying, three towards each examiner. While Satoz caught the cards with his fingers, the other man was hit on the head, chest, and stomach before collapsing, his form changing into that of an ape.

“There,” a magician said as he flicked his wrist, calling the cards back to him. “That solves that problem.”

“Hisoka-san!” Gon whined instinctively. He and Hisoka had travelled a lot in the Dark Continent, and despite his homicidal tendencies, Gon managed to get along with Hisoka, their antics usually lightening the bleak mood of the Dark Continent. “That isn’t nice!”

“Oh?” Hisoka turned his head to look at Gon, a sadistic look in his eyes which caused Leorio and Kurapika to shiver. “And who might you be?”

“I’m Gon!” Gon chirped, smiling as if one of the most dangerous criminals in the world wasn’t standing right in front of him.

“Well, Gon,” Hisoka licked his lips, smiling at the boy with interest. “You’re a very interesting fellow. Be sure not to die out there before I can kill you.”

“Okay!” Gon said excitedly, causing Kurapika and Leorio to shoot Gon looks of concern while Killua let out a soft giggle.

“ _Anyways_ ,” Satoz said loudly, clearing his throat. “As you can see, there are many predators out there who will want to eat you. If you want to stay alive, be sure to follow the path.”

* * *

“I think we should stay far away from Hisoka,” Killua said. “His bloodlust is immense. I can practically smell it in the air.”

“Hisoka-san isn’t _that_ bad when you get to know him,” Gon said, smiling reassuringly at his friend. “He may have his quirks, but he’s a really dependable guy!”

“Quirks,” Leorio muttered the word as if it were a curse. “Dude’s a fuckin pedo.”

“Not really,” Gon said. “He just wants a fun fight.”

“How do you even know so much about him?” Kurapika asked.

“Well, one of my friends knew Hisoka,” Gon said. It _technically_ wasn’t a lie.

“You sure have a lot of friends in high places,” Leorio grumbled, Kurapika nodding in agreement.

Before Gon could respond, a giant toad popped up from the ground. As it prepared to eat Killua, Gon jumped up and kicked the creature, sending it sprawling. “Run!”

Gon didn’t need to tell them twice. The four started running, weaving their way through applicants getting mauled and eaten. After a few minutes of running, they encountered Hisoka, surrounded by dead bodies.

“Ah, Gon-chan~” Hisoka turned, staring at Gon with a sadistic smile as he licked his lips. “I’m so excited to see you.”

“I’ll hold him off,” Gon said, stepping forward.

“No!” Kurapika shouted at him. “I won’t abandon you!”

“It’s me he wants,” Gon said. “I’ll meet up with you at the second phase of the exam. That’s a promise.”

Kurapika hesitated, but eventually nodded. The three ran past Hisoka as he continued to stare down Gon. The time traveler was grateful that he had talked to Hisoka earlier without fear, as it caused the magician to care far too much about Gon to prevent the other three from escaping.

“I take it you want a fight?” Gon asked, taking on a semi-serious tone as his cheerful smile morphed into a smirk.

“It seems that you know me well,” Hisoka replied.

“That I do,” Gon said as he finally let his aura flare around him.

“Interesting,” Hisoka said as he flared his Nen in response. “I see you’ve unlocked your Nen.”

“Godspeed,” Gon muttered to himself instead of replying, letting the electricity envelop him. He dashed towards Hisoka, kicking him in the face. Gon knew that even though Hisoka had a much higher reserve of Nen than Gon has right now, his body wasn’t fast enough for him to surpass Godspeed until he had his stint with post-mortem Nen.

Hisoka recovered quickly, dashing at Gon. The boy dodged a punch from Hisoka and landed a punch in his face. He noticed that Hisoka tagged Gon’s fist, so Gon tagged his Bungee Gum to Hisoka’s so if he ever tried to pull the boy, it would be rendered useless.

“You have my Nen ability,” Hisoka said, obviously perplexed. “How did you do that?”

“If you think I’ll tell you my Nen ability, then you’re dead wrong,” Gon said, smirking. “We have to become friends first, at least.”

Hisoka chuckled. “If that is the case, then I guess I’ll let you live for now,” he said, turning around. “You are very interesting, but your blows are still weak. Come back when you’re a bit stronger.”

Hisoka tried to dash away, but Gon was able to catch up easily. “Ne, Hisoka-san,” Gon said, startling the psychotic man. “If you want to fight me so badly, why don’t we become rivals?”

“Rivals,” Hisoka pondered the statement. He had heard something from Nobunaga about rivals making each other stronger. If becoming Gon’s “rival” would make him stronger at a faster pace, then it would be worth it. “I accept. This will be most interesting, Gon-chan.”

* * *

Ging shot out of bed, panting heavily. He looked around wildly before grabbing a pocket watch. _What the hell?_ He thought to himself. He remembered finding said pocket watch in the Dark Continent his first time around and had always kept it on him just in case it had a use. He then saw a picture of him and a sixteen year old Gon accompanied by his best friend, Killua. Next to the picture was Gon’s old fishing rod, which Gon had given his father shortly after his aura nodes reopened when he was fourteen.

Suddenly, there was a buzzing on his phone. That was weird, Ging hadn’t had a phone on him since the rebellion started. He picked it up and pressed the power button. Ging looked at the screen and dropped the phone. He didn’t even read the message before he dropped the phone. What had stunned Ging was the date. He was four years in the past.

Ging picked up his phone again and dialed Gon’s number. He knew Gon didn’t have a phone at that time, but he hoped and prayed that somehow this message would get through. After he met Gon for the first time, they had gotten to know each other very well, and Ging started to realize how much of a shitty father he was. He had no idea where Gon was or how to contact him, but this was his only hope. He would _not_ be the same deadbeat dad that he was in his last life. He didn’t know what was going on. He was supposed to be dead, but whether this was a dream, heaven, or hell, it mattered not. He had a chance to connect with his son and right his previous wrongs, and he sure as hell wouldn’t pass it up for the world.

* * *

As Gon arrived at the second phase of the exam, there was a buzzing sound in his pocket. Gon turned around, confirming to see if Hisoka was there. Gon had dashed ahead of the magician as to not arouse any suspicion from anyone, including his friends. He took out the scanner and the first thing he saw was: _New Voicemail_.

 _Cool. I didn’t know the scanner could double as a phone,_ Gon thought as he navigated through the scanner. It seemed that the Caller ID was off, but Gon thought that if someone knew his phone number when he himself didn’t know the number registered to the scanner, then it must be worth the seven seconds the voicemail lasted for. Gon pressed the play button as he put the device to his ear.

 _“Gon,”_ Gon’s face paled as he recognized the voice of his father. A million thoughts whirled through his head, Gon not being able to grasp on one long enough to completely register in his brain. _“It’s me, Ging. We need to talk.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please don't forget to comment your thoughts and inquiries in the comments. I enjoy reading your comments and I really enjoy receiving feedback. I want to improve my writing as much as I can so I can improve the quality of the chapters I write in the future.


	5. Food x For x Thought

Chapter 05 Food x For x Thought

“I’m Menchi and this is Buhara,” A woman with blue hair states. “We will be the examiners for the second phase of the hunter exam. For this part of the exam, you will be cooking for us.”

At that, there was a roar of laughter. “Stop it! That’s mean!” Gon shouted at the crowd, being thoroughly ignored. Menchi survived for about fifteen years in the Dark Continent and treated Gon like a little brother, teaching him how to cook and identify poison within ingredients, along with other skills a Gourmet Hunter would need. Gon, in kind, saw Menchi as an older sister, holding her to a very high regard. Naturally, future or past, Gon wouldn’t let an insult to Menchi slide.

“Shut up, kid!” One of the participants shouted at Gon.

“At least he’s more open-minded than you lot,” Menchi sighed. At least one person had respect for Gourmet Hunters, even if it _was_ just a kid.

“What will we be cooking?” A chunky man, which Gon identified as Todo asked.

“You will be cooking pork from the Visca Forest Preserve,” Buhara replied. “Your ingredients will be in the area around the mansion.”

“You will be judged based on your presentation and taste,” Menchi replied, waving her hand dismissively. “Be quick with it, too. Buhara and I had to skip breakfast for you ungrateful shits.”

-

Gon winced as needles extended from his blood rod, sucking about a pint of blood from its user. Gon flung the rope about 100 meters away, red mist coming out of the weight. Suddenly, a bunch of Great Stamps charged for the end of Gon’s fishing rod.

“There!” He shouted, deactivating the rod’s ability. He jumped up and landed a punch on one of the pig’s forehead. The pig stiffened before falling unconscious. He figured that everyone else can figure out the pigs’ weakness on their own.

-

Gon knew he had to fail the exam so Netero can show up, but future Menchi had taught him never to lower his standard and to take pride in his cooking. Gon decided to make something simple enough for Menchi to fail without tasting it while still giving it his all.

As he started to dismember the pig, a huge crowd of people ran over to their stations with an unconscious Great Stamp held above each of their heads. They all went straight to roasting the pig while Gon neatly cut his big into smaller chunks of meat, adding salt, pepper, and a couple other ingredients as he went.

As he prepared to pan-fry his first cut of pork, he heard a loud crash. He looked up to see Toro destroying his workstation. “This is utter bullshit!” He shouted as he punched a table, causing it to crack in half. “Why didn’t you pass me?!”

“Your dish lacked effort, therefore it was not a dish that both of us can enjoy,” Menchi stated simply.

“Aren’t all pork dishes the same?” Hanzo asked. “I mean, pork is pork. Why make a huge fuss over it?”

“Listen here you little shit!” Menchi grabbed Hanzo by his scarf and yanked him over. “We Gourmet Hunters put a lot of work in our food so their taste can be of the highest quality!”

“And look at him!” Menchi shouted, jutting a finger at Gon, who was blankly staring at them as he flipped over one of the chunks of meat on his pan. “Even if he hasn’t put too much thought into it, he’s still showing more effort than all of you combined!”

“Menchi, your habits are showing again,” Buhara pointed out as he finished eating another gigantic pork roast.

“Well, it’s too bad that these dolts can’t try new things and have an open mind,” Menchi said.

“Ano,” Gon said, walking over to them with a lazily stacked pile of pan-fried pork. To trick himself into maintaining his dignity, Gon had deliberately placed each chunk of meat as to look disorganized but was placed deliberately as to make people think he didn’t know what he was doing. Utter bullshit, I know. “I’m done.”

“Thank you for the food!” Buhara stabs a fork into one of the chucks and eats the whole thing in one bite. “Man, this is amazing! Menchi, you’ve got to try this! Trust me!”

“Although it is better than everyone else’s, it still lacks the visual presentation that would be needed for you to pass,” Menchi said. It was obvious that she at least respected the kid for trying new things, but wasn’t necessarily pleased with him. “I’m sorry, kid, but I’m going to have to fail you too.”

“It’s okay, Menchi-nee!” Gon chirped, a huge smile on his face, surprising the lady almost as much as the suffix he added to her name. “It’s my fault for not thinking up of something better. I’ll just try again next year.”

“Who gave you permission to call me that..?” Menchi growled, causing Gon to chuckle and sheepishly rub the back of his head.

“Enough with this bullshit!” Toro yelled, cutting off the conversation, “I’m fucking done with bowing to a stupid Gourmet Hunter like you!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night,” Menchi said, waving her hand dismissively.

“Why you…” Toro dashed towards the Hunter to attack, but was sent flying when Buhara slapped him, his hand almost the size of Toro’s entire body.

“Don’t interfere,” Menchi said, not moving an inch.

“I only did so because you would have killed him if I didn’t,” Buhara said.

“Whatever,” Menchi scoffed. Gon sighed. Some things will never change.

-

As Satoz hangs up the phone with the chairman, he could see a Hunter Association blimp arriving in the distance. As it lands, an old man jumps out. Satoz sighs as he jumps out of his hiding place to join the group.

“Chairman Netero,” Menchi says, turning towards the elderly man. “What can I do for you?”

“It has come to my attention that you have failed everyone in this exam,” Netero said, chuckling. “Is this true?”

“Yes sir,” she says. “Their close-mindedness and unwillingness to experiment was enough for me to determine that these people cannot be hunters. I admit to having overreacted during the exam, though, therefore making the exam harder. If you can redo the second phase, I will retire as an examiner because of my incompetence.”

“No!” Before Netero can respond, Gon piped up, running towards the two. “Menchi-nee did great! She was just mad that people didn’t respect her field of work. If I was a hunter and people started insulting my work, I would be offended too. Please don’t fire her, Netero-san.”

“Ohoho, popular, are we, Menchi?” Netero chuckled. Menchi shot Gon a look as a few of the participants scoffed. “Since there _are_ people who want you to continue being examiner, I suggest you come up with an alternate assignment for the exam.”

At that, Menchi’s gaze softened at the boy. Because of the boy’s words, Netero seemed compelled to keep her on this job. She didn’t care much for the job, but it was heartwarming to see the kid stand up for her. “I think I have the perfect idea.”

-

Menchi flies up the ravine with a spider-hawk egg, also known as a dream egg in her hands. “And that’s how you do it,” she said happily. “Now, it’s your turn.”

Without hesitation, Gon ran and jumped down the ravine, grabbing hold of one of the webs. Kurapika, Killua, and Leorio grabbed onto the same web as more and more participants continued to grab onto webs.

“I-I can’t do this anymore!” One of the participants shouted as he dropped down, grabbing an egg before falling to his death. Several more applicants also fell, taking a whole nest of eggs with them.

“Wait!” Gon said, sniffing the air. He felt a little tickle on his nose and opened his eyes. “Now!”

He let go of the web and grabbed two eggs before the updraft carried him up. Several more people followed him up as he landed safely at the top of the ravine.

-

While Menchi hard boiled the eggs for everyone, Gon took some of the supplies he stole from the previous exam site to scramble one of his eggs and plated it with a bit of leftover pork he had made. He took the egg that he had already hardboiled and walked up to Toro, who was sulking. He didn’t jump down the ravine, in fear for his life.

“Here!” Gon said, handing him the egg. “Do you want to try?”

“Really?” Toro asked, looking at the boy. After a short pause, he nodded and took the egg from the boy, biting into it. “It’s amazing.”

“We Gourmet Hunters risk our lives every day to get flavors like that dream egg,” Menchi said, walking over to the two. “Just because our profession sounds dumb doesn’t mean that it isn’t a risky and life-threatening line of work.”

“I see,” Todo said, staring at the half-eaten egg. “I’ll come back and take the exam next year. I’ve learned a lot today. Thank you.”

After Todo left, Menchi turned to Gon and looked at his disk of scrambled eggs and pork. “You know,” she said, a small smile on her face. “If you had presented that at the exam, I might have actually taken a bite.”

“Do you want to try?” Gon asked her innocently, handing her the pork and eggs. “I don’t mind.”

“Sure,” Menchi said, sticking the fork into the pork before gathering a bit of eggs. As she took the bite, Gon could see her face light up.

“This is really good!” She exclaimed. “I really didn’t expect something this good. Where did you learn how to cook?”

“My awesome big sister taught me!” Gon chirped. “She would have probably killed me if she saw what I had originally served you, though. I could have done better, but I needed to get to Netero-san…”

“It’s okay,” Menchi said, pretending to ignore Gon’s last statement. “I bet your big sister is a really awesome person.”

Gon shot her a sad smile. “Yeah,” he said. “She was awesome.”

Menchi’s joking expression morphed into one of sympathy as she realized what the boy had implied. “Well, let’s get you onto the airship, okay?” She ushered Gon towards the airship, still holding his plate of food. “We have to leave soon, anyways.”

-

“What do you think of this year’s participants?” Netero asked the examiners as he sipped his tea.

“Number 405 is my favorite,” Menchi stated. “He seemed to be a lot more open-minded than the rest. He also carried himself like a hunter would. While people like 39 and 44 carry themselves like assassins, Number 405 has the makings of a true hunter.”

“I agree with Menchi,” Satoz said. “Gon-san is a lot like his father. He and I had a very nice chat about Ging. Gon seems to know a lot about his father, despite claiming to never have met him.”

“So number 405 is the one named Gon,” Netero said before chuckling lightly. “This year is turning out to be more interesting than I thought.”

-

“Ging, where the hell are you?!” Cheadle Yorkshire yelled through the phone at Ging, who hasn’t left his room. He didn’t want to leave his room until he knew what the fuck was going on or until his son contacted him. “This is the third zodiac meeting you’ve missed in a row! You can’t keep doing this!”

“Sorry Cheadle,” Ging said, letting out a shaky breath. It was still surreal to even talk to the girl who had died right before his eyes. “Something came up. I’m trying to find out what’s going on right now. It’s important. I promise.”

“Okay,” Cheadle sighed in defeat. “Just stay safe, okay? I don’t want you dying out there on me.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll see you later,” Ging said, hanging up the phone. He stared at the screen, noticing that he had gotten a text message.

 **Gon:** I’m taking the Hunter Exams right now. I don’t think I can meet up with you until October, though. I have a few things I need to take care of. I’ll be in Yorknew for the auction. I’ll see you there.

Ging sighed as he turned off his phone. That text didn’t feel like the Gon he knew. Not the Gon that was 12 years old, or even 16 years old. There must be something up. Ging collapsed on his bed and closed his eyes. He was going to need a lot of alcohol.

-

Gon sighed as he put away his scanner. There was no use in scanning because he already knew the Nen abilities of everyone who was on the airship. He decided to wait until later to talk to Killua in hopes that Netero would approach him while he was alone. If not, he can still play the game with Killua, but if that was the case, he couldn’t use Nen.

“Excuse me, young man?” Gon smirked as he heard a voice behind him. He turned around to see no one there.

“Boo!” Gon didn’t even flinch at Netero’s attempt to spook the boy.

“Ah!” He turned around again as if he had just noticed Netero was there. “Netero-san! What can I do for you?”

“I’m just a little bored,” Netero said, a smile on his face. Gon knew that Netero was wondering why Gon wasn’t startled, but the chairman was an expert at hiding emotions. “Say, would you like to play a game with me?”

Gon smiled. This is what he has been waiting for. “That sounds fun!” He exclaimed, bracing himself for whatever shocked faces Netero will have within the next few hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really excited to see Gon interact with Netero next chapter. To clarify, I would think that Menchi would have gone to the Dark Continent in the previous timeline and survive as long as she did, as she was a single star hunter. Though I can't really scale her power, I can only assume she's at least in the same ballpark as other single stars such as Morel. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	6. New x Secrets x Revealed

Chapter 06 Revealing x New x Secrets

Gon followed Netero into a familiar looking room. It was empty, say for the door. Netero had discarded his robe and stood a few feet off the center on one leg, spinning the ball atop his finger. “Try to take the ball from me by any means,” Netero explained the rules of the game. Netero originally planned to use one arm and one leg, but he knew from Jaymin that the boy already had access to Nen. No matter how competent or incompetent, Netero could not underestimate a Nen user to such a degree.

“Sounds fun!” Gon chirped. He let his aura flare to life as he prepared to leap.

Netero let loose a small bit of aura in response. Gon knew that the elderly man had much more than he exerted, but as far as he knew, the old man was facing a child. Gon had thought about asking Netero to hold the ball and tag it with Bungee Gum, but he knew that Netero wasn’t stupid.

“Godspeed!” Gon shouted before dashing at blinding speeds, electricity coursing through his body. Netero pushed some aura into his arm as he moved the ball away from Gon’s grasp. Gon managed to touch the ball with three of his fingers, but the ball didn’t fall out of the chairman’s hands.

Gon then activated Whirlwind, programming his nerves to react whenever a person moved withing a 10-meter radius, which was about the diameter of the circular room they were in. Gon knew that no one would disturb their game. Since Netero was tossing the ball around playfully and hopping on one leg as an attempt to taunt the boy, Whirlwind started to take effect immediately.

“Not bad, boy,” Netero said as he dodged Gon’s lightning fast attacks.

“Too bad you can’t use your ability, Netero-san,” Gon said as he made another swipe for the ball. Netero then made the mistake of tossing the ball to move it away from the boy’s hand. Gon instantly deactivated Whirlwind and shot a pink tendril of Nen at the ball, causing it to stick. As Netero jumped up to grab it, Gon yanked his arm backwards, causing the ball to rocket towards him. Netero dashed for the boy, but the ball had already reached his hand. “Looks like I win.”

“Looks like you did,” Netero stopped mid-dash, sighing. He realized he had made a big mistake in underestimating the boy. “I would say you should already be qualified to get your license. Maybe I can get it for you now so we can have a rematch in a more… open area.”

“Ah! That’s very kind of you, but I’ll pass.” Gon chirped. “I want to spend more time with my friends here and the exam is really fun!”

“I see,” Netero chuckled.

“I don’t think that’s the reason why you called me here, though,” For the first time since he arrived in the past, Gon dropped his façade. His cheerful eyes now shone with cynicism.

“I guess you’re right,” Netero replied, noticing and adapting to the shift of tone coming from the boy. If the boy’s current strength wasn’t something that he didn’t take seriously, his potential was. “One of my associates suspects that you have been to the Dark Continent.”

“I’m glad you’re cutting straight to the point,” Gon sighed. “I have.”

“The papers I received state that you’re only twelve years old,” Netero said. “Some of the most powerful nations have entered and barely made it out. May I ask how you survived there?”

“I guess there’s no avoiding it,” Gon sighed. He knew that Netero didn’t care for the Dark Continent, but someone who can survive it, no matter how long, could have the potential to be a huge threat. “My name is Gon Freecs, and I am 56 years old.”

* * *

“I see,” Netero said. It had taken about an hour for Gon to recount the important details of his story. “That’s quite the tale, boy.”

“I’m quite aware,” Gon said, a tick appearing on his forehead. He hated that Netero still called him “boy,” but Netero was twice his age, so Gon really couldn’t protest. “Shame I can’t take your ability anymore.”

“As much of a shame that would be, I would like to stay alive,” Netero chuckled dryly. “So, what are you going to do now?”

“First, I need to teach Killua how to use Nen,” Gon replied with a thoughtful look on his face. “Most of my abilities are locked, so I can’t take on Beyond right now, so for now, I’m going to train. During this first year, I’m not going to deviate too far from the original timeline. It won’t be bad to get some training.”

“I see,” Netero said as Gon turned to walk away. “Boy.”

“Yes, Netero-san?” Gon stopped and turned his head so Netero can only see half of his face.

“I won’t go so easy on you next time,” Netero said, his signature smile plastered on his face.

“That’s good to know,” Gon said, smiling genuinely before turning to walk away.

* * *

As Gon closed the door behind him, Netero sat down on the floor. _Time travel, huh?_ Netero chuckled to himself. One thing Netero learned in the Dark Continent is that anything goes. Netero then turned his thoughts to Beyond. Netero was way past his prime and his son was much more cunning than he was. If Netero tried to face Beyond head on, even with a plan, there’s a significant chance that he would not survive the ordeal.

 _I’m trusting you, Gon,_ Netero closed his eyes and sighed. He really was falling behind. _Please deal with my unruly son._

* * *

Ging looked at the set of double doors and let out a shaky breath. He hadn’t died too long after Cheadle did, but he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. There was probably something, _anything_ that he could have done to save her. Cheadle was his best friend. She had been there for him so many times and the one time she needed him, he failed.

Ging sighed, and with a heavy heart, he opened the doors. What lay beyond was an empty conference room, say for Cheadle, who was cleaning up the large conference table, her back turned to Ging. “Hey, Little Pup,” he said lazily, causing the future chairwoman to jump. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Ging!” She turned around with speed that rivaled Killua’s Godspeed. She looked annoyed at first, but when she looked at the man, her expression softened. “My god, you look like shit. What happened?”

“Yeah, a fuckton of alcohol can do that to you,” Ging shrugged. He did look like shit. His clothes were full of rips and tears, his hat had several holes where his hair poked out, and there were cuts, bruises, and gashes all over his body. The hunter was annoyed at the amount of alcohol it took for him to get wasted. Even after that, his intoxication only lasted about an hour, the hangover hitting immediately after.

“Didn’t you say you were investigating something important?” Cheadle asked, narrowing her eyes as she adjusted her glasses. “That was only this afternoon.”

“Yeah,” Ging said, looking wistfully at the night sky through the windowed back wall. “Did you know I have a son?”

“You? A son?” Cheadle scoffed. “Who’s next? Netero-dono?”

“Too soon,” Ging sighed, causing Cheadle’s eyes to widen in shock. The man decided it was a good idea to cut Cheadle off before she could say anything. “That’s besides the point. Shortly after he was born, a certain man came after me, killing his mother in the process. I barely escaped with my son and my life. I dropped him off at my sister’s place so he would stay safe.”

“Wait,” Cheadle held her hands up in a time out position. “First of all, you’re stating that there is someone strong enough to make you run for your life? I didn’t know that was possible.”

“You really don’t want to know,” Ging said, a scowl forming on his face. “It’s just… I feel like a shitty father. Even when I found out that he wasn’t after me anymore, I was still too scared to see him.”

“That’s nice and all,” Ging theorized that Cheadle didn’t intend to come off as mean as she did, but genuinely didn’t know what to say. “But why are you telling me all this?”

“I was recently able to get into contact with him,” Ging said, shifting his gaze so he was looking at his tattered shoes, feeling insecure for the first time in decades. “I don’t know what to do.”

* * *

Killua was staring out at the night sky from a window. He was happy to have met Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika, but he felt something off about the boy. There were brief moments were Gon’s eyes would change. They would be cheerful and happy, but every now and then, his eyes would flicker with pain and sorrow. Killua knew those eyes. He saw them every day when he looked in a mirror. He learned how to hide off his pain at a fairly young age, but when he was alone, he would let himself relax, allowing those pained eyes of his show themselves.

“Killua!” Killua jumped around, the bones on his fingers extending. He looked like he was about attack at a moment’s notice, but eased up when he saw that the person who called him was Gon.

“Jeez, Gon,” Killua chuckled, the killer intent fading from his eyes. “You scared the crap out of me.”

“Killua, you shouldn’t use that language,” Gon said innocently. “Anyways, do you want me to teach you that really cool thing?”

“Sure,” Killua shoved his hands in his pockets. “We have two hours, I think.”

“That’s enough time,” Gon said, thinking back to when Wing had first taught the two how to use Nen. “Can we go to your room?”

“Sure,” Killua turned and led Gon to his room. He flipped on the lights and closed the door. “What is this cool thing?”

“It’s called Nen!” Gon chirped in his usual chipper tone. “It’s the ability to harness your life force!”

“Why would I need that?” Killua asked. He was a trained assassin. He didn’t need some stupid life force trick.

Gon walked over and grabbed a tissue from a tissue box, channeling his aura into it. He threw it at the wall, causing it to cut itself partially through the wall, similar to Wing’s demonstration.

“Woah!” Killua exclaimed. He had to admit, turning a piece of tissue paper into a bladed weapon would be useful, if not just plain cool. “What else can you do with this Nen thing?”

“Ano…” Gon thought for a short while. “Well, there was this one girl who can predict the future without fail and… oh! I think Xeno-san once made a huge dragon!”

“Xeno-san? You met my grandfather?” Killua asked, slightly shocked.

“No, but I was close by when he made the dragon,” Gon said, internally chastising himself for opening his big mouth again. “Anyways, do you want me to teach you?”

“Yes!” Killua said. Making a huge dragon sounded awesome!

“Alright,” Gon said, placin a finger on Killua’s forehead. They _have_ only known each other for a day, technically. Gon reasoned that Killua might get the wrong idea. The boy suppressed a chuckle. Killua tended to jump to conclusions. “You ready?”

Killua nodded. Gon heaved a sigh and sent a small amount of his aura into Killua, opening his aura nodes. In a bright flash of white, Killua’s aura flared to life. “Woah!” He looked at himself and the newfound aura seeping out of him. “This is so cool!”

“Right now, your life force is literally flowing out of your body,” Gon explained, causing Killua’s eyes to widen comically. “Try to concentrate. Your aura is an extension of yourself. Try to pull it back and concentrate the output into sort of a bubble around you.”

Killua nodded and closed his eyes. Slowly but surely, his aura began to mold into the familiar form of Ten.

“Good!” Gon chirped and Killua opened his eyes. “How does it feel?”

“It feels like wearing an invisible set of clothes,” Killua responded.

“That is Ten,” Gon explained. “Your aura covers your body, kind of like a protective barrier.”

“That’s useful,” Killua mused to himself.

“Now,” Gon chirped, his own aura flaring to life. “Let’s spend the next two hours practicing Ten!”

* * *

“For the last time, you need to take a shower!” Cheadle yelled. The triple star hunter practically dragged Ging back to her place when he said he would just go to a bar that night.

“Little Pup, I told you I’m fine,” Ging waved his hand dismissively. “I shouldn’t even be here.”

“Ugh, I can’t believe you, you insufferable mother-“ Ging took the buzzing in his pocket to tune out his friend. He looked at the phone to see who it was. He tapped the phone, accepting the call.

“Ging, I need you to report to the Hunter Exams,” Netero’s voice started.

“And now you’re ignoring me?!” Cheadle roared. “Listen here-“

“Yeah, yeah, give me a sec,” Ging said, putting Netero on speaker. “What did you want, Jiji?”

“Ging, this is about your son,” Netero said. “Please report to the Hunter Exams immediately.”

That shut Cheadle up. More of the fact that Netero had called in the first place. The old man knew that Ging would usually just tell him off, so he never bothered to call unless it was important.

“What about him?” Ging asked. If it were his past self, he wouldn’t have given two shits about the boy, but Ging was a different person now. “Is he hurt?”

“Quite the opposite,” Netero chuckled dryly. “I challenged him to a game, and he won.”

Ging and Cheadle looked at each other, dumbfounded. Netero only played one type of game with Hunter Exam Participants. The next phrase that came out of their mouths was uttered in complete unsion.

“What the fuck.”


	7. Into x The x Maze

Chapter 07 Into x the x Maze

Kurapika didn’t like the airship. For some reason, wherever he went, he felt off. He had split off with Leorio a few minutes after the airship departed to go sort out his thoughts while he went off doing god knows what. The man couldn’t help but feel that there was something off about Gon. The boy always seemed cheerful, but Kurapika was no stranger to the look in his eyes. Even though the boy hid it well, Kurapika could detect the sense of loss radiating from the boy. The Kurta couldn’t help but feel bad for the boy, and despite his hate for the Troupe, he felt the urge to help her new friend. He had nothing better to do, so he decided to see what the boy was up to.

“Let’s spend the next two hours practicing Ten!” Kurapika could hear Gon shout through the wall. Kurapika curiously walked over and opened the door.

“Ah! Kurapika!” Gon chirped. Kurapika was surprised that neither of the boys showed any sign of surprise at his sudden appearance. “Come here! You should learn this as well!”

“Ah?!” A tick appeared on Killua’s forehead. “I had to beat you in a race to learn this! How come he gets to learn it for free?!”

“Killua, your aura is fluctuating,” Gon pointed out.

“Shit!” Killua closed his eyes. Kurapika had no idea what they were doing, but to him, they were just doing, but Kurapika had a feeling he would find out soon.

Gon bounded over to Kurapika and placed two fingers on his forehead. “Watch this!” With a bright flash of light, white tendrils started to flow off the man.

“What is this?” Kurapika, keeping a calm façade. He wanted to look strong for the boy, believing that he needed a role model like Kurapika. He doesn’t know exactly what the boy has suffered through, but Kurapika felt like if someone older than him stayed strong no matter what, then Gon would follow under his footsteps and become stronger himself.

“It’s your aura!” Gon said. “I’m teaching Killua how to use it!”

“Thanks, but I don’t need it,” Kurapika said. He didn’t need some gimmick to kill the Troupe.

“You will,” Even Killua stiffened at Gon’s change in tone. Kurapika stared into the boy’s eyes, dumbfounded. Gon’s eyes shone with more wisdom and pain than Kurapika could fathom. “Every member of the Phantom Troupe are masters at controlling their aura. Taking them on without the ability to use Nen is like taking on an army with nothing but a handgun.”

“How do you-“ Kurapika’s eyes flared red, causing the white tendrils to seep out faster.

“Ah! Kurapika!” Gon’s eyes returned to its normal hue of kindness. “Your life force is seeping out of you! You need to control it!”

Kurapika didn’t need to be a genius to deduce what would happen if he couldn’t control his life force seeping out of his body like a waterfall. “What do I have to do?”

* * *

Gon took out his scanner and tapped on it. Kurapika and Killua were both meditating to familiarize themselves with the concept of their aura. He switched to the messages app. He had someone he needed to talk to, but he decided to sort though the messages he already had first.

 **Ging:** I heard you beat the old man at his little game, huh?

 **Gon:** Yep! Netero-san is really strong!

Gon was surprised he didn’t have to wait long for a reply. Usually, it would take Ging at least two days to get back to him.

 **Ging:** I won’t disagree with you on that. Say, do you know what Nen is?

Gon stiffened slightly. He knew Ging was always straight with things, but wasn’t that a little bit _too_ direct?

 **Gon:** A hunter stopped by Whale Island a few years back.

Gon didn’t want to lie to his father, but if Ging knew about Gon’s previous life, he might try to get as much information about the Dark Continent as he could with no regards for Gon himself. There was a short pause before

 **Ging:** I see. Kite and I will be having words soon, then.

Gon sighed in relief. He would let Ging believe that Kite taught him Nen for now. He hated manipulating his father and Kite, but it was the best thing Gon could come up with at the time. He sighed as he sat down to meditate as well. Maybe if he searched within himself, he could find more of his old abilities. There was one Gon was rather eager to have, and the sooner he got it, the better.

* * *

“I don’t understand why you insisted on coming with me,” Ging put a hand through his messy hair. “There’s nothing for you at the exams.”

“I’m not coming for you,” Cheadle huffed. Ging suppressed a snicker. Cheadle was always like this, assuming whenever he said something he would be flirting or whatever. Ging didn’t know why the girl was like this, but he thoroughly enjoyed teasing his partner. “I want to see this son of yours myself. If he can beat Netero, he’s obviously really powerful.”

“Whatever you say,” Ging stared out the window. According to his son, he didn’t get Nen until he went to heaven’s arena. How could have Gon learned Nen this soon? It made no sense. Had Gon lied to him? That also makes no sense. Gon is as bad of a liar as Ging, which is saying something. There was clearly something up, and Ging had every intention of finding out.

“Ging!” A smack in the face spurred Ging out of his stupor.

“What was that for, Little Pup?” Ging asked, rubbing his cheek. “Is the sight of me too much for you to contain yourself?”

“S-shut up!” Cheadle’s cheeks tinted red. Ging was sure Cheadle knew that he was talking about her anger issues, but he wasn’t one to complain. “It’s just that you weren’t listening to me!”

“Whatever you say,” Ging deadpanned.

“Asshole!” Cheadle shouted, causing Ging to laugh. Maybe being sent to the past wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

* * *

Silva sighed as he sat on his bed. He looked at his phone and the messages that had been sent to him. No one was supposed to know this number except his family. Each of them had multiple phones so they could separate their work contacts and other contacts. Although most of his family gave out their personal number to people like friends and comrades, Silva made sure only his family knew of this number.

 **Gon:** Hello, Silva-dono. My name is Gon Freecss.

 **Silva:** What do you want?

 **Gon:** Nothing right now. I just wanted to start ties with the Zoldyck family. Something tells me we will be seeing each other sometime in the next few weeks. Hopefully, we can talk in person then.

Silva sighed as he put his phone down as the door opened. “You called, Silva?” Xeno’s voice filled the large bedroom.

“Yes,” Silva said, standing up from his bed. “Help me gather as much info on a man named Gon Freecss as you can.”

* * *

Gon hopped out of the airship and basked in the sunlight. The airship had just landed and Gon was happily awaiting the next phase of the hunter exam. Gon took one last look at his scanner to check his abilities.

_Name: Gon Freecss_

_Age: 12 (56)_

_Nen type: Specialist_

_Nen Abilities: Lightning, Bungee Gum, Manifest_

_Yatta!_ Gon cheered in his head. Manifest is a conjuror ability where the user can transform into different things using Nen. Gon didn’t find need for it in the Dark Continent, but now Gon could use it to transform into an older version of himself without closing his aura nodes. Of course, he would be much weaker than when he faced off against Pitou or god forbid as strong as he was in his prime. His physical strength will be weighed by how much of his aura he channels into his transformation and he will have to use even more Nen to make it look as if the amount of aura he had skyrocketed. It would be a tough technique to pull off, but with enough aura and given that his opponent would underestimate him, Gon was confident that he could pull it off after a bit of training.

Gon tuned out Bean’s summary of the third phase, as he already knew about it. The screams of agony that came from the fool dumb enough to climb down didn’t even phase Gon anymore. “Hey, guys!” Gon called out to his friends, beckoning them over.

“What is it?” Killua asked curiously, walking over. Gon noticed that Killua’s Ten was solid, even when he was doing things like walking and talking. Kurapika was having some problems, but his determination and grit kept the aura from collapsing.

“Watch this!” Gon channeled a bit of aura into his leg and stomped the ground, causing the tile with the four of them to flip over.

“A little warning before you do that!” Leorio exclaimed, a tick appearing on his forehead.

“Come on!” He beckoned them over to the five watches. He grabbed one and beckoned for the others to get one as well.

As the others put on their watches, the tile flips again, revealing none other than Hisoka. “Hisoka!” Kurapika and Leorio shouted in alarm, preparing to fight.

“Ah! Hisoka!” Gon chirped. He and Killua were too busy arguing about whether Gon’s fishing rod or Killua’s skateboard was cooler. “That’s perfect! We need 5 people to continue!”

“How would you know that?” Kurapika asked. Kurapika would normally not argue with his friend, but Hisoka always put the Kurta on edge.

“Because there are five watches!” Gon said, tossing Hisoka the final watch.

“Thank you, Gon-chan,” Hisoka’s best attempt at a sweet smile still looked like the smile of a homicidal murderer.

As Hisoka put the watch on, a door appeared in front of them. “Welcome to Trick Tower!” Pro Hunter Lippo’s voice appeared through a screen above the door. “For your first task, you must vote whether or not you want to go through this door.”

“Well, there’s only one way to go,” Kurapika said, pressing the O button on his watch.

“Agreed,” Leorio remarked.

“Sounds fun!” Gon chirped, knowing the outcome.

“Why not?” Killua shrugged.

“As long as I’m with Gon-chan,” Hisoka said, pressing the O button.

As all five voted, the doors open, leading to two more doors. One on the left and one on the right, with an X on the left door and a O on the right door.

“It seems we must vote on which side to go,” Kurapika stated.

“My gut is telling me right!” Leorio said, pressing the O key.

“Most people usually pick right,” Kurapika said. “I think it might be a trap trying to trick our instincts.”

“Kurapika’s smart, so I’ll trust him,” Gon chirped. He still wanted to face off against the prisoners. He wanted to see if Killua and Kurapika could instinctively use their Nen in combat without prior teaching.

“Eh, why not?” Killua said, pressing the X key.

“Sounds fun,” Hisoka chimed.

“Creep,” Leorio muttered under his breath.

“At least I accept who I am,” Hisoka shot back, causing Leorio to stiffen. As all the votes went in, the left door opened, leading to a large room with a flat surface in the center and five cloaked figures on the other side.

“Ne, let me go first!” A man shouted. “I want to tear them limb from limb!”

“Fine, fine,” Another man said, sighing with exasperation.

Gon, who recognized the voice, tried hard not to change the tone of his voice. “Kurapika, do you want to go first?” He asked.

“I-I guess…” Kurapika sweatdropped. He wasn’t the best under pressure from the boy, so he cracked. He stepped up onto the platform as the cloaked man followed suit.

“Hmmm what to do…” The cloak man mused to himself. “I know! What about a death match with no weapons?”

“Whatever I must do,” Kurapika’s eyes steeled with determination. “I will do.”

The cloaked man threw his cloak aside, revealing blue skin, a botched face, and nineteen hearts tattooed on his chest. “I am Majtani! I’ve marked myself for every person I’ve killed!” The man turned his back, revealing a spider tattoo. “And I am part of the Phantom Troupe! You better not fuck with me!”

Suddenly, Kurapika’s aura burst forth, his eyes going scarlet. He had his Ten activated this whole time, but the amount of emotion and rage that the spider brought upon him forced his aura to strengthen, unintentionally using Ren in the process. He dashes for the man with the intention to knock him out or put him out of commission, but as soon as his fist connected with the zombie man’s face, Majtani’s head exploded.

“A pitiful faker like you could never be a part of the _spiders_ ,” Kurapika practically chewed out and spat that last word. He turned from the corpse and walked away, the intense aura subsiding. “Don’t ever bring them up in front of me again.”

* * *

“W-what the fuck was that..?” Leorio fell back as he felt the intense aura, unable to stand the high amounts of such a commanding aura.

“That,” Gon started, “Was Ren.”

“Interesting,” Hisoka said, licking his lips as his aura fluctuated in excitement.

“Don’t,” Gon shot Hisoka a serious look. Though he didn’t send out any killing intent, Hisoka knew that Gon wouldn’t be afraid to take a swipe on the magician’s life if he tried to egg Kurapika on. “Now. Who’s next?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. As I've been writing, I've been having some doubts about how I'm characterizing Killua. I'm not sure if I'm writing out his character how it's supposed to be and I don't know how to improve this predicament. If you guys can point out how I can improve in writing his character, that would be awesome. Thank you so much and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	8. Completing x The x Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group finishes the Third Trial

Chapter 8: Completing x the x Trial

“Why did you have to come along with me?” Ging heaved a sigh as he boarded the airship.

“It’s because I can’t trust you not to fuck up in front of Netero,” Cheadle said, swatting Ging over the back of the head.

“Fine, jeez Little Pup, you don’t have to hit me,” Ging rubbed the spot where Cheadle can hit him.

“I told you not to call me that,” Cheadle growled as they sat together at a bench facing the window.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ging waved his hand dismissively.

“Anyways, how the hell did you son become that strong?” Cheadle said.

“Beats me,” Ging replied. “He shouldn’t even have unlocked Nen at this point.”

“Well, I’m interested in this kid, nonetheless,” Cheadle looked at the window.

“Yeah,” Ging said, turning his head to face the window as he saw the sun rise. “He’s going to become a really good hunter someday.”

* * *

“Let me at ‘em,” Johness said in a low voice.

“A-are you sure?” Lippo asked, visibly shaking.

“I might as well,” Johness replied. “I haven’t taken a life in far too long.”

“I-if you insist,” Lippo said, taking off the handcuffs that chained the burly man, stepping back in fear. The blond man took a step, then another. As he started to walk out of the hall, he shoved his hand in the wall, letting it train as he continued to walk, his hand creating a trail through the wall. As he reveals himself, he takes off his hood, showing an intimidating blond man.

“T-that’s Johness the Dissector!” Leorio said, taking a step back.

“Oh, interesting,” Killua looked at the burly man with childlike interest as the man entered the ring.

“Who wants to die first?” Johness asked, cracking his next.

“I want in,” Killua said, walking down the platform.

“W-wait! Killua!” Leorio extended a hand, his face full of fear.

“Don’t worry about him,” Gon said, the nostalgia almost undetectable in his eyes as the interest shown through. The first time around, his eyes were too slow to track Killua’s movements, but now was different.

“Whatever you say…” Leorio grumbled, his eyes flooded with concern for his new friend.

“A mere boy wants to fight me?” Johness flexed his hand, chuckling softly as his muscles bulged. “How pitiful.”

“Whatever old man,” Killua smirked. “Whoever loses this match will die.”

“Whatever you say,” Johness said, entering a fighting stance while Killua sighed, putting his hands in his pockets.

Time slowed down for Gon as he concentrated Nen into his eyes. Hisoka, his interest piqued, followed in suit. Johness lunged for the child. The protective coat of Ten immediately faded as Killua instinctively entered a state of Zetsu, as an assassin must be undetectable when making the kill. As Johness extended a burly hand toward Killua, he evaded to the left, shoving his left hand in his pocket. He then weaved underneath his arm, punching his right arm through the man’s chest. He moved his left hand to Johness’s back, his right hand shoving through Johness as he passed his heart from his left hand to his right. He then took his right hand out of the man’s body, tying the small pouch into a not as he skidded to a halt.

“Sir, you seem to be missing something,” Killua smirked as he held the mass-murderer’s still-beating heart in a neatly tied leather pouch.

“M-my heart…” Johness managed, extending a hand towards Killua. “Give it back…”

Killua took a step towards Johness, then another, then another. As Johness fell to the floor, his arm extended, he placed the pouch on his hand. “Here you go,” he said, looking towards Gon and his group before putting both of his hands behind his head. “That settles that.”

“Killua…” Hisoka licked his lips. “Though he’s not as strong… he is still _very_ interesting.”

“You’re disgusting,” Kurapika scoffed, seemingly having calmed down from the previous incident.

“Considering how strong those two were, they _must_ be the two strongest ones in that group,” Bendot said, cracking his knuckles. “I think I can take on anyone else, though.”

“Oh! I would like to fight!” Gon raised his hand enthusiastically. “I haven’t gotten a real fight in so long!”

“Do you think you can take me on, kid?” Bendot said, walking down the bridge to the arena. “I’ll be disappointed if you keel over after one hit.”

“Likewise,” Gon smirked. Walking down the bridge, facing the bald man. He activated his Zetsu as he looked up at the man. Gon was a lot weaker than he once was, but he was confident he could take Bendot on. _I can’t always rely on my Nen,_ Gon thought to himself, remembering Knucke’s APR. Gon didn’t want to be a glass cannon, so he decided to practice fighting without Nen.

“You ready, kid?” Bendot smirked, crossing his arms. “I’m going to enjoy tearing you limb from limb.”

Gon smirked in response, dashing and jumping up so he was at the bulky man’s level, aiming a kick at his face. Bendot was surprised at Gon’s speed, only barely managing to block the attack. _Damn, I’m slower than I thought,_ Gon thought to himself.

“You’re not bad, kid,” Bendot said as Gon landed. He then started throwing a flurry of punches.

 _With how weak my body is, I’m not sure if I can take a direct hit,_ Gon thought to himself. Instead of traditionally blocking the attacks, Gon would redirect the attacks by pushing them aside with an open palm. He then dodged another punch, grabbing Bendot’s hand. Before Bendot could react, Gon pushed on his elbow with his free hand, breaking it.

“Gah!” Bendot roared in pain. “I’m going to get you for tha-,”

Bendot was cut off by a swift kick to the face. Gon then punched him in the gut. While the bulky man was stuck, Gon managed to lift his entire body and throw him off of the arena. Bendot screamed as he fell before it was cut off with an abrupt thud.

“Looks like I win,” Gon said, smiling back at his group. Hisoka looked slightly disappointed that Gon didn’t use his Nen, Killua just smiled at Gon, Kurapika gave him an approving nod while Leorio gave him a flabbergasted expression. Gon just closed his eyes and gave them a peace sign, his smile growing wider. He then opened his eyes as a path opened up from the bridge, leading to the next area.

“C’mon guys! Let’s go!” Gon called. The group walked down the bridge, following Gon through the door.

“Ne Gon,” Killua got Gon’s attention as they walked down the aisle. “Was that your first kill?”

Gon’s smile instantly faded, causing both Leorio and Kurapika to stiffen as Hisoka snapped to attention, his eyes drifting towards Gon with an immense amount of interest. “No,” Gon replied, his reply barely louder than a whisper and his expression unreadable. “No it was not.”

* * *

The obstacles were easy to pass. Although Leorio struggled a little bit, Gon and Kurapika made sure he didn’t fall off into a pit or trigger any traps. In less than half an hour, they had reached the final corridor. Gon sighed as he saw the X and the O. He then turned to the door that had the sign.

“It says we can open a path that lets one person through that will be short or go through a path all five of us can go through but it will be long and difficult,” Gon summarized, turning to his group. “Which one do you want to go through?”

“Well, we have a lot of time,” Killua said, looking at the device attached to his wrist. “I think we can take the long way.”

“Agreed,” Kurapika nodded.

“As much as I would like to take the short way, I can’t let all of you fail because of me,” Leorio sighed. “You guys _are_ the reason I’ve gotten this far in the first place.”

“I’ll go where you go, Gon~,” Hisoka said, licking his lips. Gon noticed that Kurapika and Leorio shuddered, but Gon and Killua remained still.

“I guess it’s decided!” Gon said in his normal, cheery voice as he tapped the O button on his device. The others tapped the O button as well, causing it to open.

“Hey Killua,” Gon said as they walked through the door. “Since the two doors were so close together, do you think we could just break down the wall and go through the short route?”

“I mean probably, but wouldn’t that be breaking the rules or something?” Killua shrugged in response.

“Well, aren’t hunters supposed to be innovative and cunning?” Gon put a finger to his chin. “Whatever! There’s only one way to find out!”

Hisoka instantly snapped around when he felt Gon start to channel his aura, Kurapika and Leorio doing the same not long after. Gon started to focus his aura down to his fist using Ko before punching the wall, causing the room to shake around them. When the dust settled, there was a huge hole in the wall, it being large enough to fit two people through.

“C’mon!” Gon said cheerily, pointing to the hole in the wall. “Let’s go through here!”

* * *

When the five passed through, Gon sees that the only two that have already passed were Gittaracker and Hanzo. Hanzo smirked and waved at the group while Gittaracker turns his head to look at them, his eyes fixating on Killua as his head twitches violently.

“So, what do we do now?” Kurapika asked, looking at the device on his wrist. “We have a little over fifty hours.”

“I want to teach Leorio how to use Nen,” Gon said. “I recommend you practice your Ten.”

“I can do that,” Killua piped in before sitting down, letting his aura surface as Kurapika sat down next to him. As Killua closed his eyes, Gittaracker started to walk towards the group.

“Don’t you _dare_ get close to him,” Gon’s smile instantly faded as he stepped in between Gittaracker and Killua, his expression that of pure rage. Illumi had never been a trustworthy person, even when times got dire. A few years into the Dark Continent, he faked his death to go after Killua. Gon was the one to strike him down after he took Killua’s arm. Gon let his aura explode. Leorio took a step back, collapsing to the floor as Killua and Kurapika struggled for air. Even Hisoka frowned, feeling a slight bit of fear from the sheer amount of killer intent that Gon was putting out. “If you do _anything_ to him, I will kill you. Understand?”

Gittaracker tilted his head, staring back at Gon before turning around and going back to his original spot. When Gon confirmed that he wasn’t going to make any moves, Gon let his aura subside into a normal level.

“What the hell was that?!” Leorio almost shouted at Gon as he stood up.

“Sorry, I lost my cool,” Gon replied, his usual smile creeping back up. “Anyways, I was going to teach you Nen, right? Here, let me show you…”

* * *

Gon opened his eyes as the time was almost up. He took that opportunity to look at his scanner. _I’ve been refining my Nen for almost fifty hours. I wonder what kind of abilities I have gotten since then._

Gon took out his scanner, channeling his aura into it. There were a few names that popped up, like Hisoka’s, Killua’s, and Leorio’s, but he didn’t really care about those. He already knew everyone’s Nen capabilities at this point and time. He tapped on his own name. As he read, his eyes widened in shock.

_Name: Gon Freeccs_

_Age: 12 (56)_

_Nen Type: Specialist_

_Nen Abilities: Lightning, Bungee Gum, Texture Surprise, Manifest, Doctor Blythe, Puppeteering, Terpsichora_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back! I'm so so sorry I haven't updated in so long. I just kind of hit a writer's block and moved on to other things. But worry not! My days of being blocked by my own brain's ineptitude have been temporarily pushed back for the time being and I will hopefully be updating at least once a week! Anyways, what do you think of the abilities I chose to give Gon? I'm still open to suggestions. Thank you for reading and thank you for your patience.


End file.
